Botswana Economy Lifts Marginally

Botswana’s economy lifted 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2012, it was announced on Thursday.

According to the Central Statistics Office showed that this is after rising by a revised 0.3 percent in the second quarter.

On a year-on-year basis growth was at 5.7 percent in the third quarter compared with a revised 8.5 percent in the previous quarter.

Botswana’s economy was projected to grow at 4.8 percent and 6.7 percent in 2012, and 2013, respectively.

Botswana is however, faced with challenges of high unemployment rate of 17.6 percent, poverty level of 20.7 percent and high income inequality.

Programs underway to address these challenges include among others, labor intensive public works programme (Ipelegeng), youth employment and development funds and provision of social safety nets.

The National Economic Diversification Drive Strategy (NEDDS) which is intended to enhance productive capacity of domestic firms is expected to have significant contribution in employment creation and broad-based economic growth.

Botswana’s economy remains one of Africa’s success stories, having transformed itself from a Least Developed Country at the time of independence in 1966 to a Middle Income Country within three decades.